Device for withdrawing samples

ABSTRACT

A device for withdrawing samples comprises a sample chamber provided with a lid spring biassed to close the chamber. The chamber is removably attached to a supporting tube by means of a collar fixed to the tube, and a rod slidably mounted in the tube cooperates with a lever attached to the lid so that the lid may be opened by operating the rod.

United States Patent Guillet [451 July 11, 1972 s41 DEVICE FORWITHDRAWING [56] Reference Clted SAMPLES UNITED STATES PATENTS [72]2222: humus be l,76l,298 6/1930 Harris..... ..73/42s.4 |,l66,7l7 l/l9l6Rorrison ..73 425.4 [73] Assignee: LOreal, Paris, France [22] Filed: Nov27, 1970 Pnmary Examiner-S. Clement Swisher App]. No.2 92,989

Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. l4, 1970 France ..700l23l US. Cl...73/425.4 R

Int. Cl. ..G0ln 1/12 Field of Search ..73/425.4

Attorney-Holcombe, Wetherill & Brisebois ABSTRACT A device forwithdrawing samples comprises a sample chamber provided with a lidspring biassed to close the chamber. The chamber is removably attachedto a supporting tube by means of a collar fixed to the tube, and a rodslidably mounted in the tube cooperates with a lever attached to the lidso that the lid may be opened by operating the rod.

7 Claims, 2 Dravrlug Figures DEVICE FOR WH'HDRAWING SAMPLES SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION It is often necessary to withdraw small portions from alarge volume of liquid or from a mass of pulverized or granularmaterial. These portions must correspond, as closely as possible, to asample representing a statistical average of the characteristics of themass being examined. Furthermore these withdrawals must be often made ina sterile manner.

it is the purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus whichis simple, easy to clean and may be sterilized, which apparatus isadapted to withdraw small portions at various points from a volume ofliquid or a pulverized or granular mass. This technique makes itpossible to ensure by analysis of the specimen withdrawn the accuratedetermination of an average characteristic of the mass, for example froma chemical or microbiological point of view.

It is the specific object of the present invention to provide a newarticle of manufacture which consists of a device for withdrawingmaterial which is adapted, in particular, to be used for taking samplesfrom at least one point in a liquid volume or a mass of pulverized orgranular material. This device is essentially characterized by the factthat it comprises a specimen chamber, which is preferably cylindrical,and is provided with a cover spring-blessed to close an orifice in thechamber. This cover is attached to an actuating arm. The device alsocomprises a support consisting of a tube inside which a rod is slidable.The tube carries at one end a holding collar which collar grips thespecimen chamber. The actuating arm of the specimen chamber covercooperates with the rod which slides in the support.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the actuating arm for thecover consists of a lever, one end of which is attached to the cover andthe other end of which projects into the supporting tube through anorifice therein. This latter end cooperates with the rod which slideswithin the tube. The specimen chamber is cylindrical and comprises onits side wall a positioning pin, which pin enters a seat in the holdingcollar. The tube which acts as the support is positioned in the samediametral plane with respect to the specimen chamber as the positioningpin and the actuating arm for the cover of the chamber swings in thisplane. The spring which holds the cover down on the cylindrical specimenchamber is a helical spring encircling the pivotal axis of the cover.The rod which slides inside the tube constituting the support acts onthe actuating means for the cover and projects from the tube at the endremote from that at which the collar is located. The device according tothe invention may advantageously be made of stainless steel and, in thiscase, may be sterilized in an autoclave. It should be noted that thesupport, the sliding rod, and the cylindrical specimen chamber may beeasily separated from each other in order to wash these components ofthe device.

Finally, the specimen chamber, when separated from its support byopening the collar thereof, may serve as a specimen holder in thelaboratory, which holder is hermetically sealed and easy to open. Incertain cases, the sealing ring may be provided in the area of thecollar which engages the the specimen chamber.

This device is operated by introducing it into the mass to be sampled.The user holds in his hand the upper end of the tube and when thechamber is in the zone of the product from which a specimen is to bewithdrawn, the user presses on the end of the slidable rod whichprojects from the tube and thus lifts the cover of the cylindricalchamber so as to permit the introduction oi the product into thischamber. When the user releases the end of the rod, the cover is closedby the spring and a user may then reposition the device in the productto be sampled in order to withdraw another sample from another point.The total sample obtained in this manner may accordingly represent thestatistical average of the entire mass to be examined.

In order that the object of the invention may be better understood, oneembodiment thereof will now be described. purely by way of illustrationand example, with reference to the accompanying drawing on which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a device according to the inventionin the course of actuation by the user; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the device of FIG. 1 with thespecimen chamber separated from its support.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that reference numeral 1indicates the cylindrical specimen chamber. Chamber 1 is provided with acover 2 pivotally attached to the chamber so as to swing about a shaft20. The chamber 1, the cover 2 and the shaft 20 are made of stainlesssteel. An actuating lever 4 is attached diametrally of the cover 2 andcarries at the end thereof which extends beyond the cover a roundedprotuberance 6. In the diametral plane of the chamber 1 in which theactuating lever 4 is located, is a pin 7 which projects from the lateralwall of the chamber 1 in the central part thereof.

The support for the specimen chamber which has just been describedconsists of a cylindrical tube 8, near the lower end of which is anorifice 5. The orifice 5 is positioned in the lateral wall of the tube 8along a generatrix of the tube. At the end of the tube 8 near theorifice 5 is a collar 10 fixed to tube 8 by a connecting member 10a. 1nthe connecting member is a seat ll into which the pin 7 may be inserted.When the pin 7 of the chamber 1 is inserted in the seat ll the actuatinglever 4 is in alignment with the orifice 5. When the chamber 1 isgripped inside the collar 10, the end 6 of the actuating lever 4 ispositioned inside the tube 8 with the lever 4 posing through the lateralwall of the tube through the orifice 5. Inside the tube 8 is a slidingrod 12 the outer diameter of which is substantially equal to the innerdiameter of the tube 8. One of the ends of the rod 12 comes, when thechamber 1 is gripped by the collar 10, into contact with the roundedprotuberance 6 of the lever 4. The other end of the rod l2 projectsoutside the tube 8 and, more exactly beyond the end 9 of this tube. Theassembly formed by the support and its rod 12 is made of stainlesssteel. When the user wants to use the device which has just beendescribed he attaches the specimen chamber 1 inside the fastening collar10 by introducing the positioning pin 7 into the seat ll and closing thecollar. The user then introduces the apparatus into the mass to besampled, with the cover 2 held firmly against the specimen chamber l bythe spring 3 on the shaft 24. The user then directs the chamber 1 to thezone from which he desires to take the first sample by means of the tube8 and presses on the end of the sliding rod 12. This causes the rod toact on the protuberance 6 to actuate the cover 2 to open the chamber.The user may then direct the specimen chamber 1 to another portion ofthe product from which another partial specimen is to be withdrawn.

It is obvious that this method of operation makes it possible to obtaina specimen representing the statistical average characteristics of aparticular mass. These specimens may be withdrawn in a sterile manner ifone has taken the precaution of sterilizing the apparatus according tothe invention before use. Moreover, the cost of such a device isrelatively small and it is easy to disassemble. This makes it possibleto wash the components of the apparatus as often as necessary. Finallythe sampling chamber 1, when removed from its support by opening thecollar, may serve as a laboratory specimen chamber.

It will, of course, be appreciated that the embodiment which has justbeen described has been given purely by way of illustration and exampleand may be modified as to detail without thereby departing from thebasic principles of the invention. In particular, the apparatus may beused for products other than liquid products, for example, powdered orgranular products. It may also be made entirely of a plastic material.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for taking a sample comprising a specimen chamber which isprovided with a cover spring-biassed against an opening in the chamberand mounted on an actuating lever, in combination with a supportcomprising a tube and a rod which is slidable within said tube, saidtube carrying near one end a collar adapted to grip the specimenchamber, and the actuating lever carrying the cover being positioned tobe operated by the slidable rod in said tube, one end of said leverbeing fixed to the cover and the other end of said lever projecting intothe supporting tube through an orifice in one side thereof to cooperatewith the rod which is slidably mounted in the tube.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim I in which said cover is mounted toswing about a pivotal axis and the spring which biases the cover againstthe cylindrical chamber is a helical spring coiled about said pivotalaxis.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the specimen chamber is acylindrical chamber provided on its lateral wall with a positioning pin,said pin being positioned to enter a seat in the collar on the support.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which the tube is positioned inthe same diarnetral plane of the specimen chamber as the positioning pinand the actuating lever.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the rod which slides insidethe tube engages the actuating lever for the cover and projects from theend of the tube remote from the end to which the holding collar isattached.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim I which is made entirely of stainlesssteel.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which is made entirely of plasticmaterial.

1 i i i l

1. Apparatus for taking a sample comprising a specimen chamber which isprovided with a cover spring-biassed against an opening in the chamberand mounted on an actuating lever, in combination with a supportcomprising a tube and a rod which is slidable within said tube, saidtube carrying near one end a collar adapted to grip the specimenchamber, and the actuating lever carrying the cover being positioned tobe operated by the slidable rod in said tube, one end of said leverbeing fixed to the cover and the other end of said lever projecting intothe supporting tube through an orifice in one side thereof to cooperatewith the rod which is slidably mounted in the tube.
 2. Apparatus asclaimed in claim 1 in which said cover is mounted to swing about apivotal axis and the spring which biases the cover against thecylindrical chamber is a helical spring coiled about said pivotal axis.3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the specimen chamber is acylindrical chamber provided on its lateral wall with a positioning pin,said pin being positioned to enter a seat in the collar on the support.4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which the tube is positioned inthe same diametral plane of the specimen chamber as the positioning pinand the actuating lever.
 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which therod which slides inside the tube engages the actuating lever for thecover and projects from the end of the tube remote from the end to whichthe holding collar is attached.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 whichis made entirely of stainless steel.
 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1which is made entirely of plastic material.